Owner all of the sudden unwilling to return deposit

[ronmnk]

Used to rent a condo that all of the sudden had mold problems. Wasn't caused by me though, others had problems as well at the time, caused by bad building quality.

 

The owner didn't really take care of the issue for 3 weeks. I said I would prefer to just terminate the contract early then, as it would end in 2 months anyways. He said he's okay with it. Was all nice and normal.

 

Now over two months later, he still hasn't returned the deposit and all of the sudden says that he handed over the whole thing to a lawyer, because the agent doesn't want to return part of his commission, which he supposedly have to, because I moved out earlier. He said he will just let a lawyer deal with it.. and I'm sensing that she's either just incredibly slow with everything or she's trying to keep the deposit.

 

I'm obviously aware that it's a common issue in Thailand. What's the best way to handle it? Threaten with a lawyer? Hire a lawyer? Not worth it and just accept the loss? Deposit is roughly 50.000 Baht.

Edited September 19, 2016 by ronmnk